Unless you a
re showing your Cocker Spaniel, which will necessitate an entire assortment of specialized shampoos, conditioners, gels, sprays, and powders to properly attain a swishy, flawless coat for the ring, bathing your Cocker Spaniel is relatively simple. Because the Cocker does have more coat than other breeds, there are a few tips to making the process go more smoothly.
• Brush your Cocker completely. If you wet mats and then allow them to dry, you have felted mats, which are painful and require clipping to remove.
• Wet her completely. Put a nonslip pad in the bathtub and use warm water.
• Use shampoo sparingly. A little shampoo goes a long way.
• Massage, don’t scrub. In clipped areas, you can scrub her. In areas where the Cocker Spaniel has a long or lengthier coat, scrubbing will create a mass of tangles. In these areas, work the shampoo in with your hands from the top of her back to her paws.
• Rinse twice. Run warm water over her until you don’t feel any shampoo in her coat and the water runs clear. Then, rinse her again. Pay close attention to her paws and legs, particularly if she is standing in water. Drain the water and rinse these areas thoroughly and completely again. If shampoo is left on her legs, she will become very itchy and may wind up licking and gnawing off her coat.
• Add a conditioner. Some shampoos can dry out a coat, which attracts more dirt. Adding a conditioner will put back in the moisture and add flexibility to the hair so it doesn’t break as easily.
• Rinse again thoroughly.
• Dry with soft towels. Again, no “scrubbing” motions. Think of it more as “blotting” your Cocker Spaniel dry. If she has a long coat on her body and legs, use a blow dryer on a cool setting or a dryer made expressly for dogs, and dry out her coat on a grooming table while running a brush through the hair.
• Finish with a light conditioning spray. If your Cocker Spaniel is still a little damp, allow her to curl up in her crate or in a draft-free area of your house, on a pile of warm, dry blankets or towels.